Something Said in Sydney
by sunshineandgunpowder
Summary: Deeks held to his promise and took Kensi to Australia, but when one conversation goes too far, too fast, will their relationship withstand it? Nell/Eric back plot. T for occasional language.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**

**This is my first fanfic! Hope it isn't too bad.. Thanks for reading! If you comment I'll check your stories out, Chapter 2 will be up next Wednesday.**

**Disclaimer:**

**If I owned any of this stuff, I don't think I'd be writing on fanfic…**

**(sad face)**

"Now boarding flight 217 to Sydney, Australia."

"I can't believe we're doing this." Kensi whispered to Deeks as they walked to their boarding group.

"I promised you didn't I?" Deeks replied.

"I didn't think you were serious."

"Kens, we were in a life or death situation there, and you were trying to make me pee on a shirt. One of us had to be serious."

"We needed a liquid."

"Sure, that's it." He looked at her with a smile. It wasn't one of those charming smiles he flashed at her so often, though. It was a "you know you did it because I'm gorgeous" smile. She instantly rolled her eyes at him out of instinct.

"How did you get the tickets so fast?" she inquired, quickly changing the subject.

"Well you see, I knew this girl-"

"Never mind." She interrupted. She heard enough about his romantic escapades. She wasn't jealous.. just not interested.

"So what did you do with the arrangements for Hawaii?"

"Christmas present for a friend. He wanted to surprise a girl I know so I told her I would take her the cancelled last minute and suggested he go instead."

"That's a really generous gift. Do I know them?"

"Uh, I guess maybe."

"What are their names?"

"Group A now boarding flight 217." The speaker interrupted.

"Come on, we should hurry up so we get good seats." Kensi hastily replied, not yet ready to rat out her friends.

"They have assigned seating, Kens. What are their names?" Deeks wasn't giving this one up quite yet.

"They're just some old Marine buddies. I bet you don't even know them."

"Then why did you say I might?"

"We work for NCIS. We're surrounded by Marines; I thought maybe you ran in to one of them. But on second thought, they've been stationed in Norfolk since 2002, and you were just a cop then, so I bet you've never met them." Kensi didn't like outright lying to Deeks, but he was practically begging for it. Besides, wasn't that one of Agent Gibbs' rules? Always be specific when you lie.

"Okay. I'll take your word for it, partner." Deeks knew there was more to it, but decided to leave it alone. For now.

* * *

Nell walked in to Ops. The rest of the team had the weeks ahead off but Nell and Eric needed to work on some general upkeeping of the computers and other devices. They spent their last day of work before vacation installing new software and eating Oreos.

"So what are you doing with your vacation?" Nell asked Eric while handing him another box of Oreos.

"I'm probably just gonna go surfing or go play soccer with some college friends." He replied

"Oh. I didn't know you played soccer." Nell said, trying to hide how extremely attractive the thought of Eric in a soccer jersey was to her.

"Yeah, it got me a scholarship to CalTech. I heard you and Kensi are going to Hawaii? That sounds like fun."

"We were, but Kensi made last minute plans. I don't really want to go alone so I'll probably just sell the tickets." Nell replied, playing the part of the damsel in distress quite well.

"That sucks. You know, you could, uh, hang out with me, you know for the holidays. I'm not really doing much." He wasn't sure if she would take this as an invitation as a date or just to hang out as friends. Sure he thought it was great being friends with Nell, but, a part of him hoped for the former rather than the latter.

"That would be great. I'm just disappointed to not go to Hawaii. Kensi and I spent a lot of money on this trip."

Eric walked over and stood in front of Nell.

"You know, we could go to Hawaii together."

* * *

Kensi woke up leaning against Deeks' arm and realized they were almost in Sydney. She and Deeks must have fallen asleep while watching Titanic on her phone a couple hours ago. It was her favorite movie, and even though it was probably the millionth time she had watched it, watching it with Deeks was different. Better.

She was stirred out of her thoughts when she felt Deeks move next to her. It was just then that she realized he had his hand sitting on top of hers, on top of his leg. She couldn't explain the small jolt of adrenaline she felt. She didn't want to.

Somehow while they were sleeping they ended up leaning against each other, cuddled up in the corner seat.

"Deeks" Kensi tried to wake him.

"Hmm..." Deeks replied, still half asleep.

"Can I have my seat to myself? We're about to land."

"Kens, I somehow get the feeling you don't enjoy my closeness." He said, now fully awake.

"Yeah, your feeling would be right." She replied, now irritated by his need to annoy her.

"That's sad, because I kind of like it." He hadn't pulled his hand from hers yet.

"Deeks, if you don't get away from me, I will headslap you."

"Okay, god. You've been spending way too much time with Agent Gibbs."

"Maybe I should take to DC and have him teach you the consequences of breaking rule number 12."

"Rule number 12"

"Never date a coworker."

"Although it flatters me that you would even think of us dating, Kens, we're just friends. But we could have benefits." She glared at him. "No? No benefits? Okay then. Your loss." He settled in for landing while Kensi wondered what it would be like if they were more than friends.

**Author's Note II**

**Next chapter will have more Nell/Eric for you Neric fans. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry this is late; I couldn't put it up yesterday. Chapter 3 will be up in a week.**

**Same disclaimer. Please review and favorite!**

* * *

"Hey, Eric, if you want to make that flight, we better leave now. Kaleidoscope shows a lot of traffic near LAX."

Eric was just finishing up some software downloads when he heard Nell whispering.

"Of course there's traffic near LAX, it's almost Christmas. We can just badge our way through."

"Shh!"

"What?"

"I don't want Hetty hearing about us going on vacation together, she might think too much of it." Eric kind of wondered if he was making too much of it.

"Mr. Beale, Ms. Jones, I would never assume anything about the two of you, and in case you haven't noticed, you don't have badges." They heard the voice of the tiny yet frightening woman from the doorway.

"You heard that much, huh?" Nell asked awkwardly.

"Indeed. I, however, can get you through the airport in less than five minutes."

"I figured we could just get some badges and hats from wardrobe." Eric commented

"You do realize that's illegal, right?" asked Nell

"Well..."

"I will take you." Hetty ended the conversation and walked out of the room.

* * *

"Do not be too long Ms. Jones; I have an appointment with the governor in two hours." Nell heard these words from her boss while getting out of the car. She hadn't had the time to pack before work.

"I'll only be a minute." She lied. It had always taken her a long time to pack.

Nell unlocked her door and rushed into her apartment. She began packing. Shirts, pants, shampoo, toothbrush. She felt as if she were forgetting something. 'Socks' She thought to herself. While rifling through her drawer she came across a pink lace lingerie set. She was sure she wouldn't need it, but she may as well bring it, for whatever reason necessary, you never know.

She grabbed it and a pair of socks and rushed out the door.

"We're almost late for our flight." Eric said. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, I couldn't find my hair brush." Another lie. She knew the reason she took so long. The entire time she was packing all she could think about was Eric. She couldn't decide what this trip meant yet. Were they just friends, or did Eric want to take their relationship to the next level also? She rebuked herself for thinking of that. Friends. That is all they would ever be. Because it's all just a silly crush that she was getting over. Kind of. Oh who was she kidding, getting over Eric would be like throwing out her new IdeaPad tablet. It was not going to happen.

Hetty pulled out of Nell's driveway and they drove to the airport in near silence. Both Eric and Nell felt the nagging intensity of Hetty's silence and knew that it meant something. What it meant they were not sure of, but they knew when they found out, it couldn't be good. It never was with Hetty.

They walked through airport security, Hetty badging their way through easily. No one even questioned them.

She walked them to their gate. Eric and Nell were both anxious to find out why Hetty was so quiet.

"Mr. Beale, Ms. Jones, are you alright? You're looking pale." She said.

"Uh, yeah, no, uh, just, you've been really quiet, and, uh, I was just, uh, worried, not, worried like I should be, I mean, just, uh, is everything okay?" Eric stuttered out.

"Yes, Mr. Beale, I am quite alright. I do, however, need to have a talk with you to." She replied.

"You do?" Nell asked awkwardly. She was a bit afraid of what Hetty was about to say.

"Indeed. You see, as an agent, I understand how important it is to trust your partner." Nell knew where this was going, she didn't like it. "When two agents build a relationship outside of the work environment, it can often make it harder for them to work together in a stressful work environment such as ours. I, unlike other agents, do not forbid inter-agency relationships; I am simply warning that you know what you are getting into before it goes too far."

"Uh, Hetty, I don't know where you're going with this, but I promise we're just friends. That's it. We can go on a vacation together as just friends, can't we?" Eric didn't want to believe this but had to. That's all they were, friends. Besides, he couldn't believe that Nell would want them to be any more. She was too good for him. All he was was a geeky computer nerd, but Nell was intelligent, pretty, and reasonably good at World of Warcraft.

Nell didn't need any more confirmation from Eric. He wasn't interested. Whatever, at least now she could _try_ to move on. That's okay, she'll find someone else in Hawaii, she didn't need Eric.

"Hmm. I am afraid that I am late for my meeting, I will see you in three weeks." Hetty walked away, and Eric and Nell heard an announcement to begin boarding.

* * *

"Kensi check it out they have bacon wrapped shrimp here." Deeks nudged Kensi on the shoulder.

"Prawn." Deeks and Kensi turned around to a tall, blond haired man with a thick accent standing behind them.

"I'm sorry can I help you?" Kensi asked him.

"No, I was just mentioning, it's not a shrimp, it's a prawn. Better watch out or the locals are gonna make fun of your yank boyfriend over there."

"He's not my boyfriend." She replied quickly.

"No but we've got a thing." Deeks inserted

"There is no thing." She corrected.

"Definitely a thing. Verified, by a few people actually, so yeah, it's definitely there."

"Deeks, go buy your bacon wrapped prawn."

"Fine, princess. Someone's grouchy today." He walked away.

"There is no thing." She said to the man.

"Umm… Okay. My name is Jack. You wanna go get dinner some time?" She liked this guy, but she couldn't help but think of _her_ Jack now.

"Well, you cut to the point quickly. Yeah, sure, umm… here's my number." She searched her purse for a pen and notepad, and then wrote down her number for him.

"Cool. I'll give you a ring."

"What?"

"I'll call you."

"Ooohh… ok. I'll see you later."

"Alright, bye." He walked away just as Deeks was walking up.

"Want some shrimp?" He asked.

"Prawn" She corrected.

"Whatever."

"No."

"But bacon is your favorite. Come on, try it."

"You know how bad that stuff is for your cholesterol?" She asked

"No, but I know it's delicious."

"Fine." Deeks smiled triumphantly.

"Let's go to the hotel and check in." Kensi said while eating her bacon wrapped shrimp. Deeks was right on this one, it was pretty good.

"I'll get our luggage." Deeks picked up their stuff and they took a bus to the hotel.

* * *

**Bacon! Had to throw that in there. Review and Fav.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

**Sorry for the teenie tiny chapter this week guys, hope you forgive me! I had absolutely no inspiration for this so today when I woke up I thought "Hey, I'm supposed to update my fanfic today, I have nothing written!" So, hope it doesn't suck, I'll try to have something longer next week and, oh yes! I own none of the characters! Wait, i'm claiming the hotel staff, they're mine, cbs better not steal them. Anyway, later.**

* * *

"I'm so sorry sir, but it would seem that there are no reservations for a Mr. Johnson in the system." The front desk clerk looked up from his computer to Deeks.

"No, see, that's not possible, a friend of mine made the reservation a few days ago." Deeks replied angrily.

"Sir, there may have been a mistake, but we have no rooms open, we stopped taking reservations last week."

"Then how come my friend told me that she booked rooms for me four days ago?"

"I'm not sure, but we have not made any reservations for this week since the Friday before the last."

"I want to speak to a manager."

"What's going on?" Kensi walked up with their suitcases

"They don't have any rooms, even though we reserved one, four days ago." Deeks replied to Kensi, she chuckled. "What, you think this is funny?"

"Yeah actually I do."

"This isn't a funny situation, Kens, we have no place to sleep."

"No, its funny, because of why we're in this situation." Deeks had a confused look on his face. "It seems your lady friend bailed on you." She clarified. "Maybe you shouldn't call in favors with one-night-stands."

"Mr. Johnson," Deeks looked over to see another uniformed man behind the desk. "Hi, I'm James, the manager of this hotel, can I help you with anything?"

"Yeah, um, we thought we had a reservation here, but there are no rooms."

"Ah, I'm very sorry sir, I'll check to see if we have any rooms that will be available soon."

"Thanks."

"Yes, it looks like a couple just left a room, I'll have it cleaned for you right away."

"Thank you" Kensi smiled at James. Deeks shot a jealous look.

"You, ma'am, are very welcome." He smiled back. "Here are your key-cards, your room will be ready in an hour." He replied, with a disgusted look and a scoff from Deeks.

"You want to go get dinner?" Kensi asked Deeks.

"Sure."

* * *

"So, where to first?" Eric asked Nell as they walked out of the hotel.

"Hmmm... I don't know. Snorkeling?" She asked in reply.

"No."

"Swimming with dolphins?"

"No."

"Helicopter tour?"

"Definitely. Except-"

"What?"

"Do helicopters have wifi?"

"Really Eric?"

"What?"

"You can't let go of your phone for two hours?"

"I can't tweet from13,000 feet without wifi."

"Really Eric?!"

"Fine. I'll leave my phone here."

"Thank you."

They walked down to wait for a bus to take them to the helicopter.

* * *

"Looks like you're sleeping on the floor."

"Huh uh. No way. We can sleep on one bed."

"Deeks" Kensi raised her voice. The one room they had at the hotel was tiny. One bed, no couch, and a small bathroom.

"What? It's not like we're gonna-"

"Deeks!" This time, she yelled.

"Fine, I'll sleep on the floor. But only for you, princess." Kensi glared at him.

"Here." She handed him a pillow and blanket.

"Thanks fern." She glared again before laying down on the queen sized bed. Deeks spread out the blanket and threw the pillow on the floor then laid down.

"I think this floor is concrete."

"Shut up Deeks, I'm trying to sleep."

"My back is going to hurt all day tomorrow."

"Shh!"

"Geez, Kens, you make me sleep on the floor and then yell at my pain?"

"If I let you sleep on the bed will you shut up?"

"Maybe."

"Fine." Kensi made space for Deeks.

"Thank you."

"Shh.." He laid down next to Kensi on the bed. She turned around and put a pillow between them.

Deeks could feel the warmth of Kensi's breath on his neck. It sent chills down his spine. They had pretended to be a couple in undercover ops before but he and his partner had never been so close, they were almost touching. He didn't know how to describe the feeling he had not just now, but whenever he's around Kensi. All he knew was he didn't want to go too far with it. Or did he? 'No.' he thought, 'that could get us in to trouble.' It wasn't that he wasn't crazy about Kensi, he was. But he knew that the moment they cross that line of being just partners, there was no going back. And in their job, that could get people hurt. Whatever this feeling was, he had to be happy with it, no more, no less.

* * *

**A/N II**

**Yeppers, there it is. Short, sweet and to the point. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving! I'd be very thankful for reviews, and new ncis fanfics to discover because of my reviewers.**

**See ya in a week**

** ~A**

**p.s. Is that ~A thing too creepy? Sorry pretty little liars fans, I don't watch your show, but my name starts with an A. Soooo... yeah.**

** ~A (again)**

***ADHD rant over***


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

** Sorry this is late! Totally blanked yesterday that I needed to put this up so I just wrote it as quickly as possible. Anyway, thank you for all the reviews, there was one from Little Tayy I couldn't reply to because your PM is off! Anyway, yes, I am from the United States, land of Turkey Day, AKA Thanksgiving if that's a much too American nickname for your liking, and your question makes me wonder, do you guys (people not in the US) have some sort of Thanksgiving-like day? I know its origin has to do with the people who settled the US but sometimes traditions spread, ya know. Anyway thanks for reviewing and I will stop rambling now.**

** ~A**

…

"Kens," Kensi felt a hand on her bare shoulder. "Kens, wake up." Deeks' voice. "Kensi, I'm going surfing."

"And you felt the need to inform me of this at five in the morning?" Kensi was still half asleep.

"I wanted to know if you want to come."

"May I restate the words five in the freaking morning?"

"The surf is best in the morning."

"I'm going back to sleep."

"Your loss."

"Bring me back a Twinkie."

"For breakfast?" There was no reply. Kensi was back to sleep. He stood there for a second to look at her. He'd never seen his partner look so peaceful, so perfect.

He walked out of the hotel room to the front desk to rent a surfboard. He had hoped that he could have gotten Kensi to go surfing with him, maybe he could teach her how, but that would have to wait. 'My loss,' He thought, 'not hers.'

* * *

"How long does it take to get dressed for breakfast?" Eric shouted through the door, he was getting bored in the hotel with no Wi-Fi.

"Five more minutes."

"We're just going to breakfast, it's not like you're gonna see anyone you know." Wrong. She was going to see Eric, and impressing him was important enough.

"Fine, three more minutes." Eric started pacing.

"What could possibly take so long-" She walked out of the bathroom looking stunning. Now he knew what took so long. She walked over to him in a long, flowing sun-dress, hair half curled- half pinned up, and more make-up than usual, but still just enough highlight her features.

"I was thinking we should go surfing later." Nell said. It woke Eric up to reality where he wasn't _yet_ kissing his gorgeous partner, a reality where there are rules that prevent such things, rules he thought, should be broken.

"Umm, yeah." 'Get your thoughts back in order Eric' "You know how to surf?"

"I figured you could teach me." 'No,' He thought. ' No I can not. Because that is the one thing (lets be honest, one among many) that will run my imagination wild. Trying to teach Nell something while being totally distracted by the fact she's in a bikini? Ha! She over-estimates my mental capabilities.'

"Sure" 'Well, this should be fun.'

"Cool, let's go get breakfast, then we can rent some surfboards."

"Okay."

* * *

"Princess?" Deeks almost shouted while walking in to their room. "Are you still asleep?"

"Why do you insist on calling me that?" Kensi walked out of the bathroom wearing only a red bikini.

"What, you don't like the nickname? Fern? Hunbun? What do you want me to call you."

"I do have a name."

"Well yeah but everyone calls you Kensi."

"And you can't because?" Because that was too normal. Maybe Kensi could try and consider Deeks just a partner, but Deeks could swear there was something more. Kensi was special to him. Somehow, using a name that wasn't different just didn't feel right.

"I don't know." Kensi thought she knew. She thought she knew for certain it was because there was something special-something _different_ between them, but she couldn't. Call it uncertainty, lack of trust, commitment issues, call it anything, but Kensi wasn't ready to believe in _love _just yet. "Why are you wearing a bikini?" Deeks questioned.

"I was gonna go meet you on the beach."

"To surf?"

"To tan." Deeks paused for a minute just to admire the vision he had created in his mind of Kensi glowing in the sun, wearing only a bikini. Damn that bikini for causing thoughts in his head that partners really shouldn't think.

He tried to get his thoughts back on the real world and out of his fantasies. "Come on Kens, we're in Australia, it would be a crime to pass up a chance to go surfing here."

"Deeks, we live in Los Angeles, we can go surfing when ever we want."

"It's not the same."

"I can't get wet anyway."

"Why not?"

"I have a date."

"What? With who?" Deeks was quickly stricken with jealousy.

"Jack" Kensi had to admit, it felt a little weird to say she had a date with _Jack._

"You're going on a date with shrimp boy?"

"Do I sense a hint of jealousy?"

"No." He said this much too quickly, and much too loudly.

"Okay." She grabbed a book and walked out the door.

"Okay? What do you mean 'okay'?" Deeks chased after her.

* * *

"So you probably want a shorter board since you're just starting out."

"Okay." Nell picked a yellow Channel Islands board just a bit shorter than Eric's red Becker board.

Eric walked up to the counter to pay for the rental.

"Okay so you should probably work on your balance a little before going in the water." They walked out of the surf shop on to the beach. "Here, just lay your board down on the sand and stand on it."

Nell laid the board down and stepped on top of it.

"When you're standing, you're gonna want to have your feet about shoulder length apart." She moved her feet apart a little. "And um, move your hips, so they're parallel to the edge of the board." She slightly shifted her hips, one movement that had way too much effect on Eric's mental stability.

"Like this?"

"Um," He lightly laid his hands on her hips and changed their direction. "Like that."

"Okay." It had never been so hard to pronounce that one, short word, but having Eric's hands on the bare skin of her hips quickly turned her brain to mush and sent a burning feeling to the pit of her stomach. She wasn't quite sure she could get through an entire surfing lesson like this.

"So when you're out there, you're gonna start out laying down," 'Duh,' Eric thought, he didn't know where he was going with this, he could barely compose a sentence at the moment. "When you see a wave coming, start to push up, then jump up to a standing position as soon as it's right in front of you." Eric was sure there was more to surfing, but really all he could think about was the feeling of Nell's soft, silky skin on his fingertips.

"Okay, so you wanna get out there?"

"Sure." Absolutely. Maybe the waves could take his mind off of all the fantasies he was currently having about his partner.

Nell picked up her board and walked with Eric to the edge of the water until they had to get on their boards and start paddling. After five crashes, three mostly successful attempts at riding a wave, and an hour of Eric surfing and Nell laying on the beach watching, they decided it was time for lunch.

* * *

Deeks sat in their rental car uncertain what to do without his partner by his side. If his estimates were correct Kensi had already gotten to the restaurant in a taxi by now and she's probably already having a beer with "Jack" by now and things are probably already going perfectly as they do when some cute foreign boy comes and sweeps you off your feet.

Deeks wondered if the two-date-rule applies to this one, but it probably doesn't since their on vacation or because he likes him more than most guys she dates or he's just different somehow.

No, Deeks knew why he was different, he had an accent, and a charming smile, and a crazy tan that you can only get when you live somewhere where it's sunny all the time, and you surf every minute of your life. He was playing an unfair game. "Jack" was holding all the cards.

The sad thing was, though, Deeks wasn't just playing a game. Kensi isn't just another girl to him. If jealousy did one good thing for him, it was making that clear to him. He couldn't stand seeing Kensi with someone else, because he couldn't stand Kensi not knowing that these random dates were just games that they play, Kensi and Deeks, they could last forever.

_Forever_. That one word had the power to make him re-think everything that he had just thought. Forever meant commitment. Forever meant trust. Forever meant putting their hearts on the line for something worth a lot more then their games but something a lot harder to come by. Forever was not an easy word for a commitment-phobe with trust issues who's had his heart broken too many times already. Forever seemed like too much to ask of Kensi when it meant she would be spending forever with him, a broken, lost, jaded, hard- to- love cop who put his life on the line everyday. Forever wouldn't come without a fight.

But above all of that, forever could be worth it.

* * *

Kensi sat in a small Italian restaurant with some wine and bread on the table in front of her trying to make up reasons why Jack was forty minutes late.

'Maybe his car broke down. No, he would have called. Maybe he got stuck at work. Or did he say he was self employed? Maybe he had some sort of medical emergency. But how likely is that?

'Maybe he just decided I was too ugly, or too odd, or too _American? _Maybe he has a thing about American girls! No, that's weird. Maybe he's gay? But why would he ask me out?

'Maybe there's someone else? Maybe his ex came back to him? Maybe-'

"Do you need a check?" A waiter walked up to her.

"Um, no, actually I'm just waiting for a date." A date that's never coming.

"Well, if you don't mind waiting at the bar, we need the table." Even the waiter had given up on Kensi's date coming.

"Yeah, sure." What if he was coming? She wouldn't want him to think she didn't show.

She sat at the bar watching football for an hour and a half before she finally decided he wasn't coming. Just as she was walking out the door she saw Deeks drive up in their rental car.

"What are you doing hear?" She asked him.

"I had a feeling." He replied

"You had a feeling my date wouldn't show up?"

"Um, no actually you butt-dialed me and I didn't hear you talking to anyone so I put two and two together."

"Whatever."

"You wanna go surfing now?"

"Deeks it's 10:30."

"So tomorrow then."

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

* * *

**A/N II**

**Bad place to end? Sorry it's 12:16 and I'm tired so this is what you got. Anyway, I'd love to hear your feedback even if you're telling me "That's not how you surf" or "you spelt yeah wrong" (how does one spell 'yeah' wrong?) so review and umm yeah.**

**I tried to make this longer to make up for last week's but instead it just ended up two days late so sorry.**

**Maybe next week I'll have it posted in time (no promises)**

**Anyway thanks for reading.**

** ~A**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N **

**Four things:**

**Thank You to EVERYONE who reviewed/alerted/favorite this story. Hearing what you have to say totally makes my day ( : thanks for the support.**

**I'm gonna try to make this chapter longer than the rest since I have been doing pretty short chapters and didn't do one last week. (I am writing this A/N before writing this chapter, to clear that up.)**

**TWINKIES are cylinder-shaped sponge cakes filled with cream. (They are amazing.) The people who made them (Hostess) just shut down. (Thank you workers unions) No more Twinkies.. ) :**

**I've had the idea of doing a Fanfic (maybe just a oneshot?) based on the song (or album, if its not a oneshot) Red, by Taylor Swift. It's been distracting me from writing this, so, tell me what you think, if it should be a one shot or not and if I should wait on it until the end of this.**

**Thanks for reading, love you guys!**

**~A**

* * *

He heard the sound of cars rushing through the streets behind him and droplets of water falling from the rooftops nearly missing his face as he walked down the cold, dark alley. A homeless man sat against the wall to his right inhaling what looked to be cocaine, and as he walked past he threw the man a twenty dollar bill, and told him to get lost. Finally at the end of the alley a dark figure appeared, barely visible.

He quietly called out "Uncle Sam?"

"Follow me." The man muttered in reply.

He did as he was told and followed the man around the corner and down another alley, finding a large door at the end. The man opened it and a large warehouse was revealed.

"Jack, buddy, how are you mate?" A tall, skinny man walked up to him in what had to be a very expensive suit and Italian shoes.

"I'm uhh… I'm alright." Jack nervously replied.

"I seem to pick up a bit of hesitation in your answer, mate. Why would that be? Are you nervous?"

"Umm I.."

"You should be nervous, Jack. We had a deal, you made me a promise, and I don't quite like it when people break their promises, Jack. I don't like it one bit." He slowly stepped towards a table, picking up the crow bar that had been laying on it.

"I couldn't do it."

"You couldn't do it, huh mate? I didn't think you had much of a choice."

"I don't want to hurt her." Jack firmly stated, looking into the man's eyes.

"Well hurting her," he shook the crow bar in front of Jack's face. "is not your job. All you had to do was put a little Rohypnol in her drink and let my guys take care of the rest."

"What if her partner finds out?"

"Well then we'll have to do something about him too, now won't we Jacky-boy? I want it done by ten o'clock tomorrow. You know the consequence if that doesn't happen."

* * *

"You gettin' the hang of it, Kens?" Deeks called to his partner from across the waves.

"Umm, kind of, wait, whoah!" Kensi flipped her board and ended up under water. Deeks swam as quickly as possible to where she was and pulled her up from under the water.

"You okay Fern?" He helped her get back on top of her board as she coughed up the salty ocean water she had brutally inhaled.

"Yeah," She coughed another few times. "I'm fine," Two more coughs. "I'm good Deeks, you can let me go now." He looked down and realized he was still gripping her arm. "Go get back on your board surfer-boy, I'll be fine." If there was one thing you could say about Kensi Blye, she sure as hell never gave up.

"Yeah, um, I think maybe we can go get lunch now." He had to be honest, he was worried about Kensi. Maybe they should have practiced on land a little longer, maybe Kensi needed some swimming lessons.

"Are you giving up on me, Deeks?" She sent her most judging look towards him and he couldn't help but think 'judging, new attitude to add to the Kensi adorableness list, along with stubborn, mad as hell, and sarcastic.'

"Never." This was one of the many things he could never do to Kensi, among lying to her, betraying her, and leaving her, he could absolutely never give up on her. But he was still a little worried about her swimming skills.

"Then let's surf." She wasn't sure why he was so scared, it wasn't like she almost died or anything, she just swallowed a little water, she could handle this.

"I'm getting kind of tired, we could go watch a movie?" He didn't want to fight with her on whether she could or couldn't handle the waves right now, he just wanted to go so that he could teach her another time when the waves weren't so big and he didn't have to be scared about her drowning.

"If you really want to Deeks." She didn't really want to stay that badly, but she did want to impress him, in his element. Besides, she didn't want to fight with him right now, and his being protective of her was really sweet.

"Okay let's go."

They paddled back to shore together and walked up the beach debating, bickering rather, on whether they should get pizza or Chinese food. Kensi won the argument, Deeks giving in only because the sad look she gave him when he said he would not drive to the pizza place was just too damn adorable.

* * *

Eric sat down on the couch next to Nell with a bowl of popcorn. They were coming up on the fifth episode of Doctor Who they had watched that morning, spending most of the time arguing about who was the better doctor and one-upping each other with Doctor Who quotes and trivia.

It had been a few hours and they needed to leave soon to catch the 1:15 tour of the historic landmarks of Hawaii, a waste of time, Eric thought, in comparison to a Doctor Who marathon with Nell.

Once the finale of season three was over Eric got up to put the popcorn and dvds away, and Nell went into the bathroom to fix her makeup and hair before leaving.

"Ready to go?" Nell walked out in shorts and a tank top, just short and low-cut enough, Eric wondered if she _tried_ to put him through hell keeping his imagination from showing it's effects on him.

"Uhh, yeah, I'm good but,"_ 'cover up, you're driving me insane'_

"Yes?"

"Don't you want a, um, jacket, or, something... it can get cold in the forest..."

"I'm fine Eric." _'is he staring where I think he's staring?'_

"Okay, uh, lets go." She latched on to his arm as they walked out the door.

* * *

"Why would you put spinach on pizza?" Deeks asked her, looking to start a fight.

"It's really good. A lot of people happen to like it, Deeks."

"It's an insult to Italians everywhere, spinach was not meant for pizza, spinach was meant for Popeye."

"Pizza was not made by Italians Deeks, it was invented in New York." Deeks new this, but he said it anyway, it was good seeing Kensi in a good mood, and Deeks couldn't help but love the little smile that crept up Kensi's face when she believed she one-upped him.

"Touche."

"So we're getting spinach on the pizza then?"

"No."

"Please?" There was that damn look again. How could he say no to those big brown eyes and the little pout she was putting on? He was defenseless against his gorgeous partner.

"Fine, half and half."

"Yay." She was smiling like a little kid. As she looked over his shoulder the smile went away. "I'll be right back." She swiftly walked away from Deeks and the man standing behind him.

"Wait, Kens where are you going-" Deeks asked.

"Kensi, don't go-" Jack yelled towards her at the same time.

"You?" Deeks turned around and asked as he recognized the voice. He turned toward him, eyes beating at him intimidatingly. "You stand up my partner, and then have the nerve to show up here while we're having lunch?" He wasn't sure whether his anger was fueled by his protectiveness of his partner, or the jealousy that she would go on a date with another man on _their_ vacation.

"In all fairness, I just came here to have lunch, mate."

"Next time you see Kensi, just by chance even, and she hasn't noticed you're there yet, I'll tell you what you're gonna do, mate, you're gonna turn around, and walk away, and act like you never met her, because she doesn't need the sort of person that would just leave her in a restaurant, wondering why she got stood up, screwing up her life."

"I can explain why I wasn't there."

"Look, buddy, no explaination neccessary, you just need to know one thing; you left a wonderful, strong, beautiful woman waiting in that restaurant. She's the type of woman that doesn't come around too often, and you would have been damn lucky to have her, but you screwed that up, so piss off."

"I'm sorry, please tell Kensi that, I wouldn't have left her there if I didn't have to."

"Wait," Kensi walked over to them from around the corner. "I wanna hear why you didn't come."

"Thank you"

"Just get on with it." He was testing her patience.

"Um, my daughter, she fell down the stairs at our house, she broke her arm and ankle, and she was bruised up pretty badly. I would have called, but I guess I didn't think about it. I was just worried about my little girl."

"You have a daughter?"

"Yes."

"Is she okay?"

"She should be alright."

"I'm sorry for calling you a jerk."

"You didn't."

"Well, not out loud."

"Alright, you can make up for it."

"How?"

"How about dinner tonight?"

Kensi wanted to trust him, go along with it, and go on the date that night, but something in her gut felt wrong, she needed a day to think it over.

"How about tomorrow?"

"Okay, that works." He smiled at her softly._ 'Cutting it close.' _he thought. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Okay."

Deeks was still standing beside them. He didn't like this. Something was off to him. And not just because he could smell that horrid spinach pizza.

* * *

"And to your left you will see Fern Acres, a Census Designated Place in the county of Hawai'i. The population of Fern Acres is approximately seven hundred an fifty persons, according to the 2000 census." A strong, monotonous voice recited from the front of the bus.

"Sorry for making you come with me on this." Nell said to Eric, heavy empathy in her voice.

"It's not that bad." Honestly, Eric didn't care where he was, as long as it was with her.

"It's pretty horrible, actually, it's almost like they pay the guy to bore us to death." _'It could be worse,'_ she thought._ 'I could have come here without Eric.'_

"Come on, it's okay." He didn't know why he was defending it, maybe he was actually managing to have a good time, he got to talk to Nell.

"I thought you would hate it?"

"At least I'm with you." Nell blushed, she had no idea where the sentiment came from, and really, neither did Eric, he kind of blurted it out.

"That definitely makes it better." That was all she could come up with at the moment. Because, she never was good with words, especially when it comes to Eric, and they were technically on a date together, well, on a _vacation _together, and that surfing lesson, that _damn_ surfing lesson had entirely scrambled her brain. So, just a few words would have to do, sentimental or not.

"You know, we could ditch the bus when it stops at the souvenir shop." Eric suggested, changing the subject.

"How are we gonna get back to the hotel?"

"We could take a taxi back."

"Alright, but you're paying the taxi fare."

"Deal."

* * *

**A/N**

**Okay, time to go watch NCIS. Then I might come back and write tomorrow's chapter! Two side notes: 1. my fanfic is indeed factually incorrect, pizza was first invented in Naples, Italy, I needed that to change for the story to work. 2. Touche, touche, you can not touch my touche (sorry, that's been stuck in my head.) Favorite, follow, and review!**

**~A**

**P.S. Anyone else ready for Neric to happen? If you haven't seen the preview for next week- you no longer are allowed to exist in my world... look it up..**

**P.S. #2 Europeans- please don't spoil this for me.. you already ran me off Tumblr.. (I know it's not your fault, haha, but still, just, dont tell me what happens..)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I**

**Sorry for the crazy two-month hiatus I was on, I had little time to write, and when I did I had nothing I felt like writing about. Thanks to everyone who stuck around. Thanks also to That Aussie Gurl for reading over the first part of this for me and helping me out with the Aussie references, and Mythical Reality for continued support. This is a heavy Densi chapter, please review if you like it, or if you want to tell me that I completely screwed it up. **

* * *

Deeks and Kensi walked into the small, cold cinema.

"Five days until Christmas. Get your friends and family what they really want, a Hoyts gift card." A commercial was playing on the large screen at the front of the room.

They walked down the stairs to the front row to sit down and watch the movie. A sappy one, per Kensi's request. Sure they fought terrorists every day, and Kensi Blye is about as bad ass as they come, but she was certainly partial to romantic dramas. It was definitely not Deeks' wish to come see _this_ movie, but there was nothing else on that he was interested in.

The movie dragged on for about an hour before Deeks realized what the message was. _You only live once. There are no second chances, and sometimes bad things happen to good people, before they should, before you get to say things like I love you._

He was in love with Kensi. He knew that by now but he was waiting for the right time to say it. It wouldn't be easy for them to be together and work together, but he knew it was worth it. He was scared, though. There are reasons for the rules they have, and they are important ones. He didn't want to face it but he knew that in the right frame of mind, if Kensi was hurt or taken hostage or under heavy fire, he could be the reason that she gets killed. People don't make rational decisions when the person they love is in danger.

But what if he wasn't the reason? What if she did have to leave or she was badly hurt? What if he lost her? Without ever telling her he loved her. He couldn't let that happen. It was risky. It was dangerous. It certainly wasn't going to go over well with Hetty. He just had to tell her.

"Kensi," he whispered quietly into her ear in exactly the way that made her shiver just a bit.

"Deeks be quiet, you're interrupting the movie."

"But I need to tell you something." He couldn't give up on this yet.

"Tell me after the movie."

"But I-"

"Shh…" Someone behind them said.

Maybe he should wait on this. Maybe this wasn't the time. Maybe he should tell her tomorrow when there weren't so many people around. Maybe.

* * *

Eric looked at his watch then out the window as they drove through a dense grove of trees. They had no cell reception, no Wi-Fi (Nell and Eric both checked, every fifteen minutes.) They had nothing to do but wait for the torturously dull stream of useless information to come to a pause.

"And to your left you will see the stump of the first coconut tree to ever be cut down on the show _Gilligan's Island,_ a very beloved and highly revered monument for fans of the show and movie aficionados everywhere." recited the tour guide at the front of the bus.

Nell picked up her phone to check for an Internet connection.

"Anything?" Eric inquired.

"Yep, I got something." Nell replied

"What?!" Eric practically jumped.

"A dead phone."

"Okay, we're going to stop here for about fifteen minutes, get a snack and something to drink for the long drive back." The tour guide announced.

The passengers began filtering out of the bus and into the parking lot of a gas station/ fast food restaurant completely devoid of any cars other than their's. Eric checked his phone as he walked into the sunlight. Still no reception. Maybe the owner of the restaurant could call a cab for them.

* * *

"So, where to?" Deeks walked out of the bathroom in a towel as Kensi did her hair in the mirror above the desk.

"Um, I don't know I thought we could go for a walk or- Deeks!" Kensi jumped up as she turned around to face her partner.

"Yes?" Deeks calmly questioned.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Talking to you." He could hardly help the smile that crept up his lips.

"In a _towel?_"

"I'm sorry, do you want me to take it off?"

"Ye-No! I mean, put some clothes on!"

"You sure?"

"Wha- Yes! I'm sure."

"'Cause for a minute there it seemed like you weren't, so I'm just checking that you don't wanna-"

"Deeks!"

"Okay, I'm going. I just wanted to know what we were doing today. Geez."

* * *

"I'm just saying Batman is way better than Iron Man."

"All Batman is is a billionaire who's afraid of bats that made a cool suit. Iron Man, EPIC." Kensi and Deeks walked down the boardwalk while eating ice cream. They had been squabbling over which super- hero was better since Deeks won a carnival game for Kensi, and she chose an Iron Man helmet as the prize.

"All Iron Man is is a billionaire who made a cool suit. He didn't overcome any irrational fears!" Deeks argued.

"And that's all it is, an irrational fear that turned into a fetish! And Iron Man is _so _much more than that." Kensi retorted.

"Then what is he?"

"Um, let's see, genius, playboy, philanthropist. And what is Batman? A guy with a lot of money, who is afraid of bats."

"He's a hero, a fighter."

"Fighting for what? Entertainment? He doesn't have a purpose. Super-heroes need a purpose."

"And Tony Stark's purpose is?"

"Maybe he's fighting for Pepper."

"Maybe Bruce Wayne was fighting for his father. Maybe he needs to feel like he's making his father proud. That's fair, isn't it?" Deeks couldn't help but feel similarities between his own crime-fighting partner and the fictional character of Bruce Wayne.

"Yeah, that's fair." Kensi was quieter now. She was no super-hero, but she could understand what Batman might feel, if he were real.

"You don't have to be a super-hero to need something to fight for." They had stopped walking for a moment, Deeks staring into Kensi's eyes, which were clearly reflecting the pain of her own past.

"What about you? What are you fighting for?" Kensi faintly questioned.

_You._ Deeks thought.

"I don't know."

"Can I tell you something?" Kensi asked.

"Yeah." Deeks replied. _Right now would be a great time to tell her-_

"I, um.. _I love you,_ Deeks."

_Oops, too late._

"I lo-" Deeks started to reply, when Kensi's phone rang. _Dammit!_

"Hello?" Kensi looked at Deeks, apologetic, as she answered her phone.

"Hey Kens, it's Jack, I was just calling to make sure, I'll pick you up in about an hour?" _Did he just call her Kens? That's what I call her, he can't call her Kens!_ Deeks could barely hear the phone conversation going on in front of him.

"Um, yeah, that sounds good." Kensi didn't want to go on her date with Jack anymore. She wanted to stay with Deeks, maybe let him finish his damn sentence without interruptions.

"Alright, see you soon."

"Bye." She ended the call and put the phone in her pocket, after silencing the ring tone.

"So," Kensi said.

"Maybe we should, uh, make our way back to the hotel, so you can get ready, for your date..." Deeks choked those last three words out, and it almost pained Kensi to hear them. He felt like a coward, not being able to go on, but it didn't feel like the right time.

Maybe she shouldn't have said it so soon, especially since she knew she was going on a date in an hour. _How would this change their dynamic in the field? Were they going to finish this conversation some time or just go on pretending that it never happened? Did Deeks even feel the same way? What was he saying when her damn phone interrupted him?_

"Yeah, we should go." She had used up just about every ounce of courage she had just to tell him she loved him in the first place, she had nothing left to fight for his reply.

* * *

**A/N ii**

**Did anyone else know Kensi and Deeks are both closet comic book nerds? I love that! Also, Mythical Reality, I told you I could do something with the comic book fetish, ha!**

**Also, I know it was expected that Deeks would say I love you first, what with him pining off about it for the last few chapters, but, lets be serious, Deeks may be a flirt, but I really think Kensi would be the aggressor in that relationship, and it served the story better.**

**Remember to vote for Tiva as TV's top couple 2013, round 4 closes Wednesday, 9 PM Pacific Time.  
**

**I love to hear all reviews, or see a new favorite or alert. Thanks guys!**

**~A**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N I**

**I am clearly very bad with schedules. I apologize. I believe there should be about five chapters of this story left and I promise to do better the next time I publish a story. Thank you for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites. The last chapter didn't have as much Nell/Eric stuff, this one should have more. Thanks for being patient with me.**

* * *

Nell and Eric watched through the window of the ratty old shop as their tour bus drove away. Their tour guide hadn't even questioned whether all his passengers were present or not. They had left undetected.

Nell looked through the shelves of the store for a box of Oreos. She and Eric hadn't eaten for six hours. It was getting dark out at seven o'clock in the evening and Eric was worried they might not make it back for dinner, he had reserved a table at Mi's Italian Bistro for nine o'clock.

Nell picked up the box of Oreos she found at the back of the shop and walked over to the counter.

"Damn it!" Eric nearly shouted from the door.

"What?" Nell was shocked. Eric very rarely swore.

"My phone just died." he replied.

"Do you have a phone we can borrow?" Nell asked the store owner, who was standing behind the counter.

"Yep." The man picked up an old, chunky, yellowed desk phone from behind the counter. Frayed wires stuck out from the back of it.

"Umm..." Nell raised her eyebrows while staring at the old piece of junk.

"Yeah?" Questioned the confused older man looking at her.

"I don't think this is gonna work..."

"Well why not?" he asked defensively.

"Because it's broken..." Nell continued.

"Uh, Nell?"

"Yeah,"

"I think he's blind."

"My eyes are as sharp as a double edged sword!" he defended with a slur.

"Okay, we'll take these Oreos." Nell resigned.

"Nell, we have to figure out how to get back to the hotel."

"Well it doesn't look like we'll be taking a cab."

Deeks sat on the couch watching TV. He was doing his best to avoid thinking about Kensi, what she was doing at the moment, what would have happened if he had had the chance to respond.

_She wouldn't forget what she had told him, would she? She wouldn't move on because she hadn't heard I love you back and end up with Jack, would she? Why hadn't he told her before? Why hadn't he said it when they went to the beach, or some time on their walk?_

He sat there, trying to get her out of his mind. Trying, but not succeeding.

The news ran across the screen. Followed by some reality show. A crime drama. Deeks continued to recline on the couch, not absorbing a single word that was spoken.

* * *

"I am so tired." Eric whined as they walked through a thick grove of trees and down a dirt road.

"Eric we have like seven more miles to go. Complaining isn't going to help." Nell replied

"Can we take a break?"

"We've only been walking for ten minutes."

"I'm too tired to walk seven more miles. It's almost eight. We should stop to rest."

"Eric, it's seven thirty."

"And we should build our camp while it's still a bit light out."

"How do you intend to build a camp? All we have are cell phones, maps, and jackets."

"We can figure something out. How do you think people do it on those survival shows?"

"Well they start with experience and training. Besides, do you want to eat bugs?"

"We have Oreos."

* * *

Eric put a final layer of branches on the small hovel they had constructed with timber from surrounding trees. Nell was approximately ten feet away, gently blowing on the thin flame developing on a leaf, which she had created by striking rock against rock, spitting sparks out and towards the leaf. She set the leaf atop some more kindling and added stacks of twigs.

Once they were finished setting up camp Eric and Nell went out to search for berries and other food. Eric returned to camp with blackberries, his shirt turned up to hold them all, a bit of his tan, surf toned stomach on display from the gap not covered. Nell gathered several pineapples before they reconvened.

"So," Nell said.

"Hm?" Eric distractedly replied.

"Do you know how to cut a pineapple open without a knife?" Nell asked.

Eric leaned over and picked up a rock. He took a pineapple from Nell and set it down on a boulder nearby. He slammed the rock against the pineapple and it split open, spewing juice at him. He handed it to Nell.

"There you go."

"Not exactly what I had in mind." She said with a small laugh. Eric smiled and threw a blackberry her way. "Hey!" She shouted. Nell picked up a fistful of the smashed pineapple guts and threw it at Eric.

"This means war." Eric declared.

They continued their food fight until they ran out of food, and they were both covered in blackberry stains. Then began the search for a pond to rinse the sticky mess off of their skin.

Eric looked for more food while Nell cleaned off in the nearly clear water of a lake they found half a mile away. Once she was finished Eric took his turn to clean the stickiness from his skin while Nell continued the search for more food.

They returned to camp with a new pile of berries, this time to be eaten, Eric taking note of the fact that they had, indeed, missed the reservations made for dinner at Mi's.

Once they finished off the berries, and what little pineapple they had left, Eric and Nell climbed into their tiny hut, Nell snuggled against Eric for warmth. They fell asleep quickly, held tightly together, wrapped in each other's arms.

* * *

"So then he gets up on the table, wasted, and starts singing "Outrageous" while dancing as if he were a background dancer for a Britney Spears music video."

"That's why you never go to the club with your partner?"

"Deeks is scary when he's drunk."

"Well I'm sure he has plenty of stories about you,"

"Hey!" Kensi protested. She and Jack were having drinks at a local bar.

"So what's the story with you two?" Jack asked. He knew he was pushing it just a bit by asking her that. For one, because she probably did not want to answer, but also because he knew it was dangerous. Personal. He was not supposed to get personal. Getting personal complicated what he knew he had to do.

"What do you mean? There isn't much of a _story_ with us. He's my partner." The denial he knew was coming.

"Okay." He sounded skeptical. He was skeptical, obviously, people always were when she told them there was nothing between her and Deeks, they were quite right to be, but nonetheless it annoyed Kensi.

"Seriously."

"_Okay" _

"You don't believe me?"

"I do. It's just... it seemed like there was something. Like you were... distracted when you two said goodbye. It seemed like you didn't want to go." Was she that obvious? Of course she didn't want to go, but she thought she had hidden that pretty well. Ever since she was fifteen, she had learned how to do a good job of covering her emotions.

"Look, I didn't want to cancel on you or anything."

'_This is going badly' _He thought. _'I have to do something quickly.'_

"If you don't want to be here,"

"It's not that. I mean, you are great, but Deeks and I... we're different. I don't know. It's just... I don't trust a lot of people. But I trust _him_. I trust him with my life."

"You should go then... be with him."

"Okay." Kensi looked away for a second. Jack swiftly poured a tube of Rohypnol into her drink. He did not want to do this. He had to. He knew that. But it still hurt him to do this to someone like Kensi. She had trust issues, he wasn't helping the problem. _'It's for the best.' _He mused. _'Do what you have to do. This will be over soon.'_

"One last drink, for good luck?" Jack held the glass up for Kensi.

"For good luck." Kensi reached for the glass and took a sip of her scotch.

Before even realizing what had happened, she slipped down against the bar, eyes rolling back before her eyelids closed.

"I'm sorry Kensi. I am so, so sorry." Jack held her up before carrying her out of the bar as if she

were a drunken friend, passed out from a long night of hard alcohol.

* * *

**A/N II**

**Thanks for reading, guys! Please review/follow/favorite, it makes my day! Everyone ready for Red pt. 1? New NCIS series.. sounds interesting. First spin-off of a spin-off of a spin-off to air on television, go NCIS!**

**~A**


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